Anna Patterson 1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?” The play takes place on a bitterly cold day in the home of John Wright who was recently murdered. The people involved at this point in the story are the sheriff, his wife (Mrs. Peters), the county attorney, and Mr. and Mrs. Hale. The men have come into the house to investigate, and the women have come to gather things to bring to Mrs. Wright in jail. The characters are divided between the men and the women - the men are investigating the location of the murder, searching for a possible motive as all signs point to Mrs. Wright as the murderer. The women, on the other hand, ponder the life of Mrs. Wright, and how her life has changed since her marriage to Mr. Wright. They are the ones who ultimately realize the motive, and we are left wondering at the end of the play what choice they will make: will they present the bird and expose the motive, or continue to keep it hidden.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? The intrusion occurs when Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover the bird with its neck broken wrapped in silk in the sewing box. This causes them to realize the motive Mrs. Wright had for killing her husband. He was the one who likely killed the bird.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? The time this play takes place is unique because it takes place after the “main” event in the story, the murder. It takes place soon after and the characters involved in this main event are never seen in the play, only other characters are left to piece together the earlier events. This adds an extra layer of mystery, as the audience is trying to learn about and make sense of earlier events along with the characters in the play.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) Did Mrs. Wright kill her husband? If so, why? What was the motive behind the murder? I believe questions regarding Mr. Wright and his treatment of Mrs. Wright must also be asked because Mr. Wright killing the bird could not be the sole reason for Mrs. Wright killing her husband, but rather, it was “the final straw” or the final explosion after years of abuse. More questions would be: Was Mrs. Wright justified in killing her husband? Were the woman right in concealing the bird? Is justice letting Mrs. Wright go free or is justice having a murderess be accountable for her act?
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale. Mrs. Hale wants to be there to support her friend Mrs. Peters by coming with Mrs. Peters into the house to gather a few things for Mrs. Wright who is in jail. Mrs. Hale says she always hated the feel of the house, how somber and lonely it was, and she wants to leave, but as she looks around the house she has a realization of what kind of life Mrs. Wright must have lived, and her wants change. She wants to make up for something she failed to do before, so first obstacle Mrs. Hale faces is herself. She is facing off against her own guilt. She feels guilty for never reaching out to Mrs. Wright or being a good neighbor. She feels she might have improved Mrs. Wright’s life by being a friend, but she never visited because she hated the feel of the place; she hated the gloom. As she stands in the house, she realizes she could have helped and this causes her to want to avenge Mrs. Wright. She wants to avenge the life that Mrs. Wright was forced to live, so she conceals the bird and blatantly lies to the men saying that the bird was eaten by the cat. The second obstacle is the obstacle of Mrs. Hale against society. In the justice system, she should not have withheld the evidence, but she did, forcing herself to take a stand against society.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles. The most theatrical moments are when the women discover the dead bird inside the sewing box, and toward the end, when the women struggle to conceal the bird and are almost caught with the evidence.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) The main image, I believe, is of the bird. It is representative of Mrs. Wright and her situation. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters explicitly draw this comparison when they talk about how Mrs. Wright (when she was Minnie Foster) loved to sing, and her marriage choked the life and joy out of her - like how her husband choked the bird. This pairs with the fact that Mr. Wright was choked to death in his sleep with a rope, and the men throughout the play jokingly ask whether Mrs. Wright was going to quilt her quilt, or knot it. Other images is the house and the stove fire in the kitchen. The house is a mirror for the state of Mrs. Wright’s life: messy, isolated, gloomy, and cold. Her house also lacked children, and therefore, in the mindset of the time period, lacked purpose and a future. Although the character of Mrs. Wright is only talked about during the play and never seen, there are a couple objects that cause the audience to be reminded of the presence of Mrs. Wright. The rocking chair is a reminder that just yesterday morning, the supposed murderess was sitting in the chair pleating her apron. As well, the fruit preserves are symbolic of someone once living in the home and working in the kitchen.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles. The themes of justice and compassion and what is right and wrong are prevalent throughout the play. Is it justice for Mrs. Wright to be convicted of the crime she committed, or is it justice for her to go free and for her to be free of her marriage? And is it wrong or is it right for the women to conceal the bird, judging for themselves that Mrs. Wright should be considered innocent? Another theme, I believe, would be marital abuse. The constant question throughout the play was what could have been the motive behind the murder and what must have been the situation this woman was living in that would cause her to do something so drastic. Also, the theme of early feminism, whether men were in fact superior to women is presented. The women are the ones who in the end figure out the entire story. This is connected to a theme that takes after the title, Trifles. The women see the evidence and the story in the details, or to the men, the “trifles”. The entire story is laid out in front of the women. From the state of her house, to the sloppy, hurried stitching in the quilt, to the dead bird and damaged cage, the story and the motive can be found in the details. The men only see the surface of the story, but the women see into its incredible depth.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles? The idea of family in this play takes a more tragic face. Mrs. Wright was trapped by her husband and it led her to take drastic measures to escape. In my opinion, family in this play expands to be friends as well. The famous quote, “friends are family we find along the way” is applicable to this play. Mrs. Hale feels that she was at fault for never reaching out and aiding Mrs. Wright in her difficult life or offering any joy saying that “the crime is mine.” Mrs. Wright’s “family” would have expanded to more people; people who could have brought happiness instead of sorrow.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play takes place on a bitterly cold day in the home of John Wright who was recently murdered. The people involved at this point in the story are the sheriff, his wife (Mrs. Peters), the county attorney, and Mr. and Mrs. Hale. The men have come into the house to investigate, and the women have come to gather things to bring to Mrs. Wright in jail.
The characters are divided between the men and the women - the men are investigating the location of the murder, searching for a possible motive as all signs point to Mrs. Wright as the murderer. The women, on the other hand, ponder the life of Mrs. Wright, and how her life has changed since her marriage to Mr. Wright. They are the ones who ultimately realize the motive, and we are left wondering at the end of the play what choice they will make: will they present the bird and expose the motive, or continue to keep it hidden.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion occurs when Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover the bird with its neck broken wrapped in silk in the sewing box. This causes them to realize the motive Mrs. Wright had for killing her husband. He was the one who likely killed the bird.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The time this play takes place is unique because it takes place after the “main” event in the story, the murder. It takes place soon after and the characters involved in this main event are never seen in the play, only other characters are left to piece together the earlier events. This adds an extra layer of mystery, as the audience is trying to learn about and make sense of earlier events along with the characters in the play.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Did Mrs. Wright kill her husband? If so, why? What was the motive behind the murder? I believe questions regarding Mr. Wright and his treatment of Mrs. Wright must also be asked because Mr. Wright killing the bird could not be the sole reason for Mrs. Wright killing her husband, but rather, it was “the final straw” or the final explosion after years of abuse.
More questions would be: Was Mrs. Wright justified in killing her husband? Were the woman right in concealing the bird? Is justice letting Mrs. Wright go free or is justice having a murderess be accountable for her act?
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
Mrs. Hale wants to be there to support her friend Mrs. Peters by coming with Mrs. Peters into the house to gather a few things for Mrs. Wright who is in jail. Mrs. Hale says she always hated the feel of the house, how somber and lonely it was, and she wants to leave, but as she looks around the house she has a realization of what kind of life Mrs. Wright must have lived, and her wants change. She wants to make up for something she failed to do before, so first obstacle Mrs. Hale faces is herself. She is facing off against her own guilt. She feels guilty for never reaching out to Mrs. Wright or being a good neighbor. She feels she might have improved Mrs. Wright’s life by being a friend, but she never visited because she hated the feel of the place; she hated the gloom. As she stands in the house, she realizes she could have helped and this causes her to want to avenge Mrs. Wright. She wants to avenge the life that Mrs. Wright was forced to live, so she conceals the bird and blatantly lies to the men saying that the bird was eaten by the cat. The second obstacle is the obstacle of Mrs. Hale against society. In the justice system, she should not have withheld the evidence, but she did, forcing herself to take a stand against society.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
The most theatrical moments are when the women discover the dead bird inside the sewing box, and toward the end, when the women struggle to conceal the bird and are almost caught with the evidence.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
The main image, I believe, is of the bird. It is representative of Mrs. Wright and her situation. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters explicitly draw this comparison when they talk about how Mrs. Wright (when she was Minnie Foster) loved to sing, and her marriage choked the life and joy out of her - like how her husband choked the bird. This pairs with the fact that Mr. Wright was choked to death in his sleep with a rope, and the men throughout the play jokingly ask whether Mrs. Wright was going to quilt her quilt, or knot it. Other images is the house and the stove fire in the kitchen. The house is a mirror for the state of Mrs. Wright’s life: messy, isolated, gloomy, and cold. Her house also lacked children, and therefore, in the mindset of the time period, lacked purpose and a future.
Although the character of Mrs. Wright is only talked about during the play and never seen, there are a couple objects that cause the audience to be reminded of the presence of Mrs. Wright. The rocking chair is a reminder that just yesterday morning, the supposed murderess was sitting in the chair pleating her apron. As well, the fruit preserves are symbolic of someone once living in the home and working in the kitchen.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
The themes of justice and compassion and what is right and wrong are prevalent throughout the play. Is it justice for Mrs. Wright to be convicted of the crime she committed, or is it justice for her to go free and for her to be free of her marriage? And is it wrong or is it right for the women to conceal the bird, judging for themselves that Mrs. Wright should be considered innocent?
Another theme, I believe, would be marital abuse. The constant question throughout the play was what could have been the motive behind the murder and what must have been the situation this woman was living in that would cause her to do something so drastic.
Also, the theme of early feminism, whether men were in fact superior to women is presented. The women are the ones who in the end figure out the entire story. This is connected to a theme that takes after the title, Trifles. The women see the evidence and the story in the details, or to the men, the “trifles”. The entire story is laid out in front of the women. From the state of her house, to the sloppy, hurried stitching in the quilt, to the dead bird and damaged cage, the story and the motive can be found in the details. The men only see the surface of the story, but the women see into its incredible depth.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
The idea of family in this play takes a more tragic face. Mrs. Wright was trapped by her husband and it led her to take drastic measures to escape.
In my opinion, family in this play expands to be friends as well. The famous quote, “friends are family we find along the way” is applicable to this play. Mrs. Hale feels that she was at fault for never reaching out and aiding Mrs. Wright in her difficult life or offering any joy saying that “the crime is mine.” Mrs. Wright’s “family” would have expanded to more people; people who could have brought happiness instead of sorrow.